~ My brain attic; filled to the brim with writing and a sea of book pages.

Category Archives: meme

Morning! Today’s teaser comes from a book I’ve been wanting to read for forever and a day. I finally got my hands on a copy a few weeks ago, on a visit to Myopic Books in Chicago. That was during the Printers Row Lit Fest, when I had my sister with me. I was prowling around the basement of the bookstore, and the noise of glee I made when I saw this lone copy convinced my sister I’m the weirdest person she knows. Pfft. She just doesn’t know that many readers, poor child. Anyway, I started reading it over this past weekend. It’s called War for the Oaks, by Emma Bull.

Teaser:

“The phouka was leaning against the shed, the picture of disreputable ease. The black-lensed glasses almost hid his expression. Only a one-sided quirk of his lips hinted at amusement, and relief. The owner of the motorcycle stood several paces away from him, rubbing his palms against his pantlegs. Eddi wondered what the phouka had done to torment him.” – 103

It’s a wee bit long, but I didn’t want to cut off the paragraph. Guys, this book is so cool so far! Eddi is a young woman who finds herself caught up in a war between the faerie folk, and the phouka is sent to guard her. I seriously adore him. I have no idea what’s going on in this teaser, but I guarantee the phouka has done something badass or mischievous. The banter between he and Eddi is a great source of amusement. I have a feeling this novel is going to be a new favorite. Plus, how awesome is that cover?

What is the longest book you have ever read? How long did it take you to read it?

It’s funny that my mind immediately jumped to Bleak House, by Charles Dickens. It’s not the longest book I’ve read, but at the time I read it, that novel felt like it was two thousand pages long. It was a huge project for my British lit class my last year of high school, one of those in depth semester long mothers where we had to know all eighty some characters inside and out, complete with weekly quizzes to ensure we were, in fact, reading that sucker instead of using Sparknotes. My friend paid respects to the project by christening her dissected cat from our Anatomy and Physiology class Hortense.

The longest book I’ve actually read was The Stand, by Stephen King. It took me a little over a month, if I recall. My entire sophomore year, I was on a huge Stephen King kick, and that was the grand finale in the late spring. I think I’m due for a reread on that monster, since I know I’ll get more out of it now then I did when I was 15. I remember being absolutely grossed out by the superflu virus’ ravages on the world. Randall Flagg disturbed me on so many levels. I adored Nick, and I was devastated at what happened to him.

Nowadays, I haven’t found very many thousand plus page novels I’m willing to invest that kind of energy in. I have Under the Dome, by Stephen King, and I’ll eventually read that one – it’ll be the first novel of that length I’ve read in over ten years. Goodness.

It’s Tuesday! It’s gorgeous out, I’m stuck at work, but it sure looks pretty outside those windows! I’m dreadfully behind on…well, everything, including this blog. It’s been awhile since I’ve done a proper post, even though those ideas are a-cookin’. I have a few reviews to sit down and write, too. But no worries – I love the beautiful weather we’ve been having so much it’s hard to get worked up over anything.

Today’s teaser comes from a book I started over the weekend, during my bout of hands down the worst flu bug I’ve ever had. Just walking over to the computer today and typing out words has me a little lightheaded, but I can’t tell if that’s from the flu or excitement that I’m actually doing something and my body can’t even handle it. The book is titled Before I Go to Sleep, by S.J. Watson.

“I looked at the man in the car. He, or someone like him, did this to me. Robbed me of everything. Robbed me even of myself. Yet there he was, still living.” – 129

I’m really enjoying this book so far. I have no idea what’s going on, and I’m just as lost and on edge as the main character, so it’s a fun one. I’ve been told I will never see the end coming, so I’m kind of excited.

This will be interesting, since I just started this book today. I scrambled to finish my last one the night before, since I’ve wanted to read John Dies at the End by David Wong for quite some time. It’s been sitting on my bookshelf teasing me for a few weeks, and I’m super stoked to finally start. I can already tell it’s going to entertain the hell out of me on the plane ride to and from Florida this week.

So! Random page teaser:

Ohh, hey, the start of a chapter. Page 193: “It was Ronald McDonald’s eyes that haunted me. I had gotten hungry for bratwurst and had been walking toward the entrance of one of the four McDonald’s franchises in Undisclosed (if you think it’s weird getting a bratwurst from a McDonald’s, then you’re not from the Midwest).”

That first line made me giggle snort. And I beg to differ, narrator: I am from the Midwest, and I still think it’s weird to get a bratwurst from McDonald’s. Unless in John’s world, this is totally normal. I also have no idea what Undisclosed is: yet. I can’t wait to find out! The burning question I want to know now, however, is why Ronald McDonald’s eyes are haunting him. I’ve always found the clown particularly creepy myself, but something tells me Stuff Goes Down at this McDonald’s. And it involves Ronald McDonald’s eyes.